The present invention relates to a printer cartridge adapted to fit within a printer cartridge-receiving cavity of a printer.
Laser printers use a coherent beam of light, hence the term “laser printer,” to expose discrete portions of an image transfer drum thus attracting the printing toner. Toner is a mixture of pigment (most commonly black) and plastic particles. The toner becomes electro-statically attracted to exposed portions of the image transfer drum. The toner is transferred to paper, or other medium, as it passes over the rotating image transfer drum. Subsequently, the paper is heated so that the plastic is melted thereby permanently affixing the ink to the paper. Any excess toner on the image transfer drum that is not transferred to the paper is removed from the drum by a wiper blade and stored in the wastebin assembly of the printer cartridge.
The vast majority of commercially available laser printers include replaceable or removable printer cartridges that incorporate an image transfer drum, a toner tank, and a metering system. A drive mechanism is connected to the drum and metering system. Modern printer cartridges often include a variety of sensors that interact with the laser printer to indicate the status of the cartridge. Indications relating to toner level, print quality and general cartridge function are often included as well. A large number of types and sizes of printer cartridges are currently available. The sensing system typically includes an encoder wheel interconnected with a rotating agitating paddle within a cylindrical toner tank or hopper assembly. Movement of the agitating paddle feeds toner into the metering system. The encoder wheel reports the movement of the agitating paddle through the toner reservoir.
Each printer manufacturer designs its printers to accept printer cartridges manufactured by it and to reject the printer cartridges manufactured by others. More particularly, to increase sales of their own printer cartridges, printer manufacturers have added electronic identification features and structural features to the printers and to the printer cartridges that do not enhance the functional performance of the printer in any way but which serve to prevent use of a competitor's printer cartridge in the printer. Printer manufacturers also prefer to sell new toner cartridges to replace empty toner cartridges. Therefore, they do not support the re-cycling industry.
Thus there is a need for a single printer cartridge that can be used with printers made by differing manufacturers and with differing printer models made by a common manufacturer. There is also a need for a printer chip that enables a single toner cartridge to be used with printers made by differing manufacturers and with differing printer models made by a common manufacturer. In addition to new cartridges, such a printer chip could be used in conjunction with spent cartridges that are re-filled with toner by the re-cycling industry when empty.
Additionally, many printer cartridges employ a method of replacing the hopper assembly multiple times without replacement of the wastebin assembly or photoconductor unit, but they all employ mechanical means of latching and biasing to one another which an end user has to uncouple then re-couple.
Therefore, what is needed is a printer cartridge that employs a method of coupling a hopper assembly with a wastebin assembly magnetically so the hopper assembly is easily removed and reinstalled in the wastebin assembly without having to uncouple and re-couple a latching means.